5 Tips to Improve Your Video SEO and Rank on YouTube (and Google)

Everyone loves watching videos online. In fact today, 81% of all internet traffic is video content. Google knows that. That is why the biggest search engine in the world prioritizes video results in searches. And since YouTube is a video platform owned by Google, it is obvious why you see YouTube content on top of the page. This is why it’s necessary to optimize your video SEO.

Content creators and brands compete for the audience’s attention more than ever before. This and Google’s quickly changing algorithms, make video SEO an equation with a lot of unknowns. Still, here are five tips that we recommend you follow to get optimal results.

Video SEO starts with the title

This tip might sound pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people find it hard to put the right title on their YouTube video. The title needs to reflect the content of the video, but also be catchy enough to make people click. First, think about what is the problem that your video solves. Then, write down a few sentences that describe the pain points or main interests of the viewers you target. Select the sentence that you think will work best. Finally, trim it down until you only get the essence of what you’ll be talking about. Consider making it sound clickable, but not clickbait. What that means is that your title needs to deliver on the promise. It is true that your video will get a lot of views if your title is clickbaity, but if the video itself doesn’t satisfy the viewers, they’ll bounce off. That would do more harm than good. Your title should also include your keywords.

Optimize your video with keywords

Keywords are words, phrases, or topics that define what your content is about. They are entered by users in search engines to find information. So when you create content, you want to include relevant keywords that will help users find it on Google. If you use keywords with high search volume, you increase the chances of getting more views and that means better ranking, which leads to even more views. Besides in your title, you would also want to mention the exact keyword in the first few seconds of your video, as well.

But how to find the best keywords to use? 

There are many SEO tools that can give you directions, including Google’s own Keyword Planner. We also use a tool called Ubersuggest, which is completely free and shows you the competition, search volume, and rank of each keyword. Alternatively, you can simply use YouTube’s search box. Just type and see what comes up.

Mention your keywords

Once you find which keywords to use, you have to mention them in the video to improve your video SEO. Can YouTube hear what I’m saying, you might ask. While YouTube’s algorithm is not that advanced (yet), it can still find out what you’re saying by automatically transcribing your video. So try to mention your keywords frequently in your video. But be wary of the so-called “keyword stuffing” – cramming as many keywords as possible in a copy. This makes texts hard to read and videos – hard to watch. It also gets penalties by Google and might cost you your ranking.

Optimize your video description

Don’t underestimate this step of the process. Make sure to add a compelling description of your video that is at least 200-characters long. Add the keyword in the first 20 words and repeat it about 2-3 more times in the rest of the description copy. A well-optimized YouTube description will help your video SEO. But a keyword-cluttered and unreadable text will make it confusing and lower in ranking. You also need to add your keyword and keyword synonyms to your video tags. 

Share your video

Once you create your video and upload it on YouTube, it’s time to share it for more views. Try to do it right away to increase the chance of getting more views early on. Promote it throughout your own social media accounts, website (if appropriate), email marketing, and other channels that you use to communicate with your clients. Another good option is to share your video on relevant topics on Reddit and Quora. Just keep in mind that a lot of social platforms like this do not allow self-promotion. You might want to also find relevant forums (that are related to your industry or the topic you discuss) and share your videos there.

YouTube videos are a great way to get more traffic, awareness, and conversions for your business or brand. And in order to take full advantage of them, you have to think about video SEO and promotion. However, just as important (if not more) is the actual content that you create. Make sure that you always keep your viewers in mind and that each video answers a question or a problem they might have. That way of thinking combined with the tips above should put you on the right track of high video ranking.

Improving your video SEO is just one way to increase the chances of getting quality leads for your business. If you want an extensive read on how to generate more leads and increase your conversions, download our FREE book below!